Vice President Joe Biden reportedly “put pressure” on Ukraine to vote in favor of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 in order to protect “the optics” created by the United States’ decision to abstain from voting on the issue. “Did Biden put pressure on the Ukrainians? Categorically yes,” an anonymous source with close...

Global equity gains and stronger commodity prices lifted emerging stocks 0.7% yesterday, though worries about China weighed, with offshore yuan overnight rates hitting three-month highs.Data showing steadily rising US house prices and consumer confidence at its highest in more than 15 years underscored the strength of the economic recovery,...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday that the vast majority of senators believe that Russia interfered in the Nov. 8 election — and they plan to act. “I would say that 99 percent of us believe that the Russians did this, and we’re going to do something about it,” Graham told CNN’s Jim Sciutto during a joint interview with Sen....

There’s no getting around it. The year 2016 was a dirty, filthy year. A look back over the annus horribilis reveals a bleak and broken corpse-strewn terrain. There were rays of light, and there is a case to be made for optimism in the long run. We’ll come to that. But first, the hard part. Never in its 71-year history has the United...

The Ukrainian village of Orlivka, near the Romanian border, celebrates its own unique version of Christmas: a festival that unites Christian and old shamanistic traditions. (RFE/RL’s Current Time TV) …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...

VIENNA: International observer body the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed Wednesday being the victim of a “major” cyber attack. “Early November the OSCE became aware of a major information security incident,” OSCE spokeswoman Mersiha Causevic Podzic told AFP via email. The attack...

Russia has voiced concerns the U.S. is planning to provide Syrian rebels with shoulder-fired missiles, warning that such equipment to shoot down aircraft could fall into the hands of jihadists. But the U.S. is denying that it has any plans to supply such weapons. “Our position on MANPADS (man-portable air-defense systems) has not changed,” U.S....

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden speaks at the First Ministers’ and National Indigenous Leaders’ meeting in Ottawa, on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. (Credit: AP) Although the United States abstained from Friday’s controversial UN vote condemning Israeli expansion into Palestinian land, a new story is emerging claiming that Vice President...